Nkosazana's hand was out for favours too

ANC presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma asked the Gupta family to pay for a business-class ticket for a Cameroonian reporter to visit South Africa when she was campaigning to become AU Commission chairwoman.

In an e-mail seen by the Sunday Times, dated June 18 2012 and with the subject "Assistance to Minister Dlamini-Zuma", the then home affairs spokeswoman, Manusha Pillai - on behalf of Dlamini-Zuma - discusses arrangements for the trip with one of the Guptas' top associates, Ronica Ragavan, who is now Oakbay Resources CEO.

Dlamini-Zuma was home affairs minister at the time.

The information is contained in a tranche of leaked e-mails between members of the Gupta family and associates that detail the extent to which the family captured politicians and state entities.

In 2014 reporter Thierry Hot wrote that Dlamini-Zuma was a ' lady of principle'.
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The reporter, Thierry Hot, is currently a special adviser to the president of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. In a 2014 article Hot calls Dlamini-Zuma "brilliant" and a " lady of principle".

Dlamini-Zuma failed to respond to questions from the Sunday Times on why she wanted Hot to visit South Africa.

Pillai said that, as a former official, she was "bound to observe confidentiality" and could not respond to questions about the Guptas' assistance to Dlamini-Zuma.

In the leaked e-mail, sent from a Gmail account, Pillai refers to "your [Ragavan's] discussion with Minister Dlamini-Zuma".

She tells Ragavan: "Please find the passport details of the journalist for whom travel arrangements should be made ... He would like to travel business class on Air France."

A copy of Hot's passport is attached to the e-mail. Attempts to contact Hot were unsuccessful.